Life continues to be very busy. The first weekend in August included a wedding. Our neighbors' daughter got married. It was a beautiful wedding. As you can see, Ed and I had a wonderful time. I was making mental notes for the future. No wedding is on the horizon for our children, but I'm sure it will be here before I know it.
For years I have wanted to take the kids to see the outdoor drama Tecumseh. This year we finally were able to make the trip. Kristin wasn't able to go but my oldest sister took her place. Ed and I had seen it about 25 years ago. Not much has changed, but that is a good thing. It is an exciting show with live horses, black power guns and real cannons.
Last Thursday we moved Blake into his dorm. He was so excited to be starting college. As we were driving to Cincinnati he was counting down the mile markers. I think he got a little frustrated when we encountered a traffic jam north of Cincinnati due to an accident. It only delayed us 15 minutes though.
After we unloaded the car, we took a walk around campus. First we ate lunch with him at the dining hall. Then we picked up the books he pre-ordered. Finally we went over to the athletic ticket office to pick up his season football tickets.
Unfortunately his move-in date was before Kristin's semester break. Ed and I drove to Ann Arbor yesterday to bring her home for two weeks. I wish all of my children were here together, but I guess that is part of the growing up process. I have to get used to not having all my cubs together at one time.
Around all of this activity, I've managed to make progress on several knitting projects.
The Sunset linen top is finished. I gave it a quick soak in the sink and then tossed it in the dryer for a tumble.
After it was damp dry, I took it out, gave it a few quick shakes and hung it on a hanger to dry. In case you are wondering why I did the quick shakes, when I pulled it out of the dryer, the stitched elongated horizontally, not vertically. I'll admit I'm a bit big around, but not that big. I also did not want a midriff top. A few sharp shakes of the top rearranged the stitches, making the top longer and leaner. It turned out perfectly.
One of my next projects will be to darn Kristin's sock. This is one of the Java socks I made earlier this year. I think this hole is the result of them being worn with Kristin's Birkenstocks.
I want to get to of my other UFOs finished before starting a new project.
Blake's Gradient Blanket didn't get finished in time to go off to college with him. I took the project along on the car ride to move him in. I was able to get one pattern repeat finished on that trip. It then went along on the trip to retrieve Kristin. Nearly two more repeats were finished on that trek. After the current red section is complete, there are 5 more pattern repeats. I don't have any long car rides planned, so I'll have to make time each evening to work on it.
The other project that I'm going to try to finish has been avoided for emotional reasons.
The summer has been so busy that I feel like I haven't slowed down enough to properly grieve my mom's passing. Last weekend was a tipping point for me. I won't go into the ugly details, but lets just say a lot of tears were shed. Getting past some of the grief has allowed me to pick up the next UFO.
The Bat****Crazy socks have been hibernating since the spring. As you may recall from an earlier post, I knit the first sock mostly while sitting with my mom in her room at the nursing home. Since Mom's death I haven't touched these. They got tossed onto my dining room table to watch as other projects were worked and more yarn/fiber was procured. Every time I looked at them, I felt a wave of grief. I still have that feeling with them, but it isn't as intense anymore. I think once they are done and I can wear them, they will take on a new life.
At least, that is my hope.
